


EPISODE FIVE: "This Is All God's Plan"

by gaypetersimmonds



Series: Skam Brighton: Season Four [6]
Category: Original Work, SKAM (Norway)
Genre: Canon Bisexual Character, Canon Character of Color, Canon Gay Character, Canon Lesbian Character, Canon Non-Binary Character, Canon Trans Character, Episode 5, Gen, Skam Season 4, also tw for brief addiction mention in clip 2, because it's a season about a catholic girl dealing with her sexuality in Many Ways, gotta let her jerk it to marika hackman, just like the emotional stuff, literally the girls are renting, men bad but teenage girls having fun good!!!!!!, tw for harrassment and mild stalking in clip 6, tw for non explicit discussion of sex in clip 3, tw for non explicit sexual harrassment in clip 4, tw for quick porn description and semi-explicit masturbation, when you see josh's name just skip over it to the girl squad stuff if that bothers you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:49:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23970343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaypetersimmonds/pseuds/gaypetersimmonds
Summary: Brianna Holland has shit sorted. Every part of her is neatly boxed off from the other, from her working class mother, annoyingly perfect step-family, and overwhelming pressure to ace her A-Levels, to her awesome best friends, expertly curated Instagram, and endless hours of drinking that result in random regrettable hook-ups.The ups stay up for all to see, and the downs are covered up. But the different parts of her life are starting to threaten to break down the walls that she’s spent years building up, and if secrets from any side come out, Brianna’s life would be over.As her past keeps coming back to haunt her, and the future gets bleaker every day, she’s going to fight harder than ever to show everyone how goddamn happy she is. Because she is happy. Right?FIRST CLIP: "Can't Relate"
Series: Skam Brighton: Season Four [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1681366
Comments: 9
Kudos: 14





	1. CLIP ONE: "Can't Relate"

**SATURDAY, MAY 2ND, 21:32**

EXT. SHOPPING STREET

_“Boyfriend” by Marika Hackman_ plays as we see establishing shots of the nightlife - people walking about, talking, the bars, the clubs, the neon lights of the city.

NICK and BRIANNA are walking down the street, laughing, stumbling into each other, drunk. NICK’s holding a smoking blunt and they’re passing it between the two of them. NICK says something to BRIANNA, and she laughs hard, silent, holding onto his shoulder as he turns them into a club.

INT. CLUB

NICK and BRIANNA walk into the club, the joint lost, still holding onto each other, and immediately get themselves lost in the crowd, lights flashing everywhere. They dance together, NICK waving his arms around as BRIANNA sways, more dignified, her eyes closed. 

The song fades out to generic electronic music as BRIANNA looks at NICK, grabbing his shoulder to get his attention.

BRIANNA  
It’s fucking bullshit that no one else wanted to come out, isn’t it?

NICK  
Yeah! 

BRIANNA  
It’s the perfect night for dancing, isn’t it?

NICK laughs, a bit with BRIANNA and a bit at her.

NICK  
If you say so!

BRIANNA nods and spins around again, NICK looking around, and then back to a smiling BRIANNA - she’s not happy, but she’s still smiling.

NICK  
Hey, has Rori spoken to you lately?

BRIANNA’s shoulders tense, her eyes going wide for a second as she panics, trying to figure out why he asked this.

BRIANNA  
Uh, no, why?

NICK  
She just hasn’t texted me today, so… [starts to laugh] I thought she died.

BRIANNA joins in the laughter, a bit too intense to be real.

BRIANNA  
No, no, don’t think she has. Probably just homework and… shit.

NICK laughs again.

NICK

Imagine doing your homework.

BRIANNA laughs as NICK twirls her around.

BRIANNA  
[sing-song] Can’t relate.

MAN [O.S.]  
How you doing, love?

BRIANNA looks around to see the MAN - very tall, very strong. She giggles, hiding her nerves, acting a lot drunker than she is, throwing herself onto NICK, her arms around her shoulders.

BRIANNA  
Great! It’s our anniversary! 

NICK puts his arm around BRIANNA, laughing, kissing her on the cheek as the MAN nods, uncomfortable.

MAN  
Great…

BRIANNA  
It is!

She keeps laughing, and the MAN walks away, blowing out some air. BRIANNA stops laughing and looks at NICK, NICK raising his eyebrows at her. They both burst into laughter, BRIANNA lifting herself off of him, swaying slightly on her feet.

NICK  
Oh, you’re brilliant, you.

BRIANNA does a little bow, stumbling forward as NICK helps her stay up, laughing.

NICK  
He was fit, though.

BRIANNA  
Ew. 

She looks in the direction of the MAN.

BRIANNA  
Well, if I get desperate enough, who knows?

NICK nods, laughing.

NICK  
Yeah, fair enough. Wanna keep dancing?

BRIANNA  
Yes! I much too sober to be happy yet!

NICK takes BRIANNA’s hands, slipping something into it, and then puts his hands into his pockets. In BRIANNA’s hands are a small baggie of pills. She smirks and takes them out, downing them dry and wincing.

BRIANNA  
Fuck, these are shit.

NICK  
Oi, they’re still free.

BRIANNA sticks her tongue out at him as she takes his hands and keeps dancing, swaying her body as she closes her eyes, trying to let herself be swept up in the party, in the drugs, but she stops suddenly, touching her back pocket.

NICK  
What?

BRIANNA takes her phone out of her pocket and sees some notifications from the GIRL SQUAD group chat, which she ignores, and at the top, two texts from both RORI and ANNABELL, both saying: “Hey”. 

She takes a deep breath and flicks most of them away, not opening them, putting her phone back into her pocket.

NICK  
Anything wrong?

BRIANNA looks up, a bit panicked, and then laughs a little.

BRIANNA  
Nah, just my mum, telling me to be safe and shit. 

NICK nods and BRIANNA smiles, still laughing, trying to get NICK to laugh with her.

BRIANNA  
I’m thirsty, are you thirsty? 

NICK shrugs, beginning to smile.

BRIANNA  
Let’s get drinks.

She grabs his arms, _“Boyfriend” by Marika Hackman_ continuing to play, and leads him through the crowd, focusing hard on getting to the bar, pushing past other people, all looking older than her and NICK.

BRIANNA and NICK reach the bar, NICK pushing them to the front, and BRIANNA smiles at the bartender, inaudibly saying her drinks order. The BARTENDER nods and BRIANNA turns around, NICK talking inaudibly as BRIANNA takes her phone out of her pocket and looks at the text notification from RORI. She doesn’t click on it, she just stares down at it.

The drinks hit the bar and BRIANNA turns around, putting her phone back in her pocket, and clinks her glass with NICK’s. She downs it and stares at the ceiling for a moment, beginning to smile.


	2. CLIP TWO: "You Can Do Something With Her"

**TUESDAY, MAY 5TH, 16:09**

INT. STAGE, SALLIS BENNEY THEATRE

The CAST sit around the theatre - a group led by JAMES and LIZ on guitar and piano on the stage, RORI with them, the main event. ESTHER, SANDY and ALISTAIR sit in the front row, talking over a binder. 

BRIANNA and MILO sit on the other end of the front row, with BRIANNA's costume designs sitting between them. MILO's putting some makeup on BRIANNA - stage makeup, clearly, a lot of silver around the eyes and dark red around the lips, matching up with the "MIMI - OUT TONIGHT/ANOTHER DAY" outfit.

MILO finishes and shows BRIANNA their work, holding up their phone with the front facing camera towards her face. BRIANNA inspects herself, smiling, deliberately not looking at the stage.

BRIANNA  
Wow, you're, like, professional at this.

MILO  
Thanks. I practise a lot.

He motions at his own eyeliner and BRIANNA nods, impressed.

BRIANNA  
You got James Charles shaking.

MILO recoils.

MILO  
Ew, don't compare me to him. I'm so much better.

BRIANNA laughs, nodding.

BRIANNA  
You're right. When I get all of these sorted, would you be good to help with the whole makeup thing?

MILO  
Sure! This is just a tryout - the real thing's gonna have more glitter.

BRIANNA  
Oh, hell yeah! 

MILO  
It's a bitch to clean--

MILO and BRIANNA  
But worth it.

They both laugh a little, and BRIANNA looks over to the stage, where the MALE CAST are singing the chorus of 'Rent', and BRIANNA makes eye contact with JOSH, who’s been staring at her the entire time. She smiles quickly and looks away, back to MILO.

BRIANNA  
So--

JAMES [O.S.]  
Milo!

MILO looks over at the stage.

JAMES  
We’re doing the male parts of 'Rent', you’re needed.

MILO  
Wow, just say you hate non-binary people.

JAMES's eye go wide for a second, BRIANNA watching, intrigued to see what happens next, but MILO just smiles and laughs.

MILO  
Kidding!

They look back at BRIANNA.

MILO  
We’ll talk more later.

BRIANNA  
Okay.

MILO jogs up to the stage, and BRIANNA looks at RORI on the stage, RORI not looking back. BRIANNA sighs and looks down at her sketchbook, tracing the outline of the Maureen costume on the next page. A shadow comes over the book and BRIANNA closes it, looking up to see ALISTAIR awkwardly smiling, holding an old fashioned camera.

BRIANNA  
What do you have that for?

ALISTAIR  
Behind the scenes! Getting the real show experience, with a real vintage camera!

BRIANNA  
That cost how much?

ALISTAIR shrugs, laughing awkwardly, as BRIANNA looks back down at her book.

ALISTAIR  
So, um… 

He keeps laughing, BRIANNA looking up at her, raising an eyebrow.

ALISTAIR  
You have all the costume designs sorted?

BRIANNA  
Uh, yeah?

ALISTAIR nods, smiling, trying to get BRIANNA to smile too - she decidedly does not.

ALISTAIR  
Great, great! Just make sure they’re all good to, like, dance in. Well, not really dance, more like strong movement. Angel needs to dance, though. And you too, of course.

BRIANNA nods sarcastically.

BRIANNA  
[sarcastic] Looking forward to it.

ALISTAIR laughs a little and BRIANNA starts to smile - quickly suppressing it.

ALISTAIR  
Great, just… I really want you to try and get into the  _ feeling  _ of Mimi, you know? So many people just brush her off as the sexy girl who falls in love with Roger and then gets sick, but she’s so much more than that.

BRIANNA nods, trying to look nonchalant, like she's not really paying that much attention, but she is - ALISTAIR rambles on:

ALISTAIR  
Mimi’s just… She’s so complex, you know? Like, people think Without You is a break up song about Roger, but it’s about her struggles with addiction. I mean, the girl’s nineteen, living alone in New York, an addict, a sex worker, a Latina immigrant, I mean, she has a tough life. But she keeps her head up - which is very admirable. And she has a great sense of humour. Sure, she isn’t the best written character to ever exist, who is, but… I really feel like you can do something with her. 

BRIANNA scoffs a little, laughing, her smile actually showing for a moment.

ALISTAIR  
I’m serious! 

He looks around conspiratorially and then at BRIANNA.

ALISTAIR  
[whispers] I wouldn’t trust anyone else in this town to play her.

BRIANNA rolls her eyes.

BRIANNA  
Okay.

ALISTAIR nods, awkward, and does finger guns, turning to walk away. BRIANNA takes a breath, clenching her jaw.

BRIANNA  
Al?

ALISTAIR turns around, his eyebrows raised at her.

BRIANNA  
I think you’re gonna be good too.

ALISTAIR grins, wide and totally surprised.

ALISTAIR  
Really?

BRIANNA  
Yeah, playing an incel-ly nerd who’s obsessed with his camera, his mother and being alone, you’re perfect for it.

ALISTAIR smiles, laughing.

ALISTAIR  
Nice words coming from a girl who came home Sunday morning to sleep in a bed covered with cat vomit.

BRIANNA gasps, ALISTAIR gasping back, grinning, twice as dramatic.

BRIANNA  
I did not!

ALISTAIR  
Saw you washing your sheets! And your hair.

BRIANNA folds her arms, keeping her chin up.

BRIANNA  
Not my fault someone fed Custard too much.

ALISTAIR  
The Cuck was hungry!

BRIANNA's mouth falls open, laughing at the same old argument as ALISTAIR keeps laughing.

BRIANNA  
His name is Custard!

ALISTAIR  
Yeah, and his full name is Cuck Bastard! Put it together - Custard.

BRIANNA can't stop herself from laughing as she keeps talking, not seeing ESTHER walk up.

BRIANNA  
Name him after yourself?

ESTHER  
Name who?

BRIANNA jumps, jumping around to see her.

BRIANNA  
You scared the bejesus out of me, Esther, God.

ESTHER laughs a little.

ESTHER  
Sorry. 

ALISTAIR puts the camera on her, laughing nervously.

ALISTAIR  
We're just doing some... character work.

BRIANNA  
Yeah, I'm practising being mean to him.

ESTHER nods, like "fair enough".

ESTHER  
You're very good at it.

ALISTAIR  
You can say that again.

BRIANNA  
[ignoring him] Thanks, babes.

ESTHER smiles and turns to ALISTAIR.

ESTHER  
Anyways, Al, they’re doing the male harmonies, so you need to go.

ALISTAIR  
What?

ESTHER  
You're a man, Al.

ALISTAIR grins, surprised.

ALISTAIR  
Oh! Yeah! Yeah, totally, I’ll get on it.

ALISTAIR runs up onto the stage, ESTHER and BRIANNA both smiling after him. ESTHER then turns to BRIANNA, looking anxious.

ESTHER  
Um, are you free tomorrow?

BRIANNA  
Yeah, why?

ESTHER shrugs, self-conscious.

ESTHER  
I just-- We haven’t hung out one-on-one in a bit, and I thought it could be fun, so…

BRIANNA smiles, relieved.

BRIANNA  
Yeah, totally, that sounds great.

ESTHER nods as the singing on the stage gets louder, both of them turning to pay attention.

MALE CAST  
_ How do you leave the past behind  
_ _ When it keep finding ways to get to your heart  
_ _ It reaches way down deep and tears you inside out  
_ _ 'Til you're torn apart  
_ _ Rent!  
_ _ How can you connect in an age  
_ _ Where strangers, landlords, lovers  
_ _ Your own blood cells betray  
_ _ What binds the fabric together  
_ _ When the raging, shifting winds of change  
_ _ Keep ripping away _

BRIANNA makes eye contact with ANNABELL, who's playing the air drums next to DEAN, and they smile at her, waving. BRIANNA quickly smiles, nervous, and looks back to ESTHER, who's watching the stage proudly.

LIZ  
Great! You guys keep working on that, but now I want the ladies and such, all on stage please! Let's work on the higher harmonies!

ESTHER  
Coming!

BRIANNA smirks as ESTHER turns to her.

BRIANNA  
Ha, nice.

ESTHER chuckles to herself as the two of them get on stage, BRIANNA staying firmly on the other side of RORI, but RORI jogs over to her anyway.

RORI  
Hey.

BRIANNA stays looking ahead as LIZ walks in front of them, passing both of them song lyric sheets.

LIZ  
Rori, back to the other side.

RORI frowns.

RORI  
But--

LIZ  
I’m not having you two talking all through rehearsal, okay? We have work to do.

BRIANNA salutes her, making LIZ laugh as RORI smiles tightly, walking back over to the other side of the stage, BRIANNA staring after her, half-wanting to go with her, half-happy she’s gone.


	3. CLIP THREE: "Nice"

**WEDNESDAY, MAY 6TH, 13:19**

INT. HALLWAY, BACA

BRIANNA and ESTHER sit on a bench together, ESTHER holding a few stapled together pieces of paper, reading it boredly as BRIANNA has a textbook on her lap, looking between it and what she’s typing on her phone - an essay, clearly. She’s stuck, biting her lip, tapping the end of the last sentence she wrote. ESTHER sighs and BRIANNA looks over at her.

ESTHER  
I can’t believe I have to play a sad Southern belle for this drama thing.

BRIANNA  
I mean, you’re already Southern.

ESTHER laughs briefly, BRIANNA quietly proud of herself.

ESTHER  
American Southern. 

BRIANNA  
You can do it. Just… Act like you murdered your husband and now you have to pretend to mourn him.

ESTHER laughs again.

ESTHER  
No, I got the sad part down.

She does a peace sign and BRIANNA snorts. ESTHER puts the papers on her lap and turns to BRIANNA.

ESTHER  
How much do you think I’ll regret dropping out?

BRIANNA smiles.

BRIANNA  
Zero percent. I’ll join you.

ESTHER  
Seriously, I can’t wait to take my gap year.

BRIANNA  
Lucky you. I’m still trying to get into [posh voice] Oxford University.

ESTHER wiggles her eyebrows and BRIANNA rolls her eyes.

ESTHER  
Fancy bitch.

BRIANNA shrugs, looking down, trying to hide how insecure she is about this.

BRIANNA  
I probably won’t get it, but you know.

ESTHER  
You will! You’re amazing!

BRIANNA shrugs, smiling.

BRIANNA  
I try. And they do have a really good architecture course.

ESTHER  
Yeah! You can build me a theatre one day.

BRIANNA laughs and nods.

BRIANNA  
Totally.

She looks back down at her work, tapping her pen against the last word she wrote, completely stuck. She takes a breath and looks up at ESTHER, who’s reading over the highlighted paper in her hand.

BRIANNA  
So… You and Sandy, huh?

ESTHER laughs a little, both awkwardly trying to avoid talking and desperate to talk about it - BRIANNA is charmed.

ESTHER  
Yeah… 

BRIANNA  
Can’t bully you for being a virgin anymore.

ESTHER laughs, looking down.

ESTHER  
Thank God.

BRIANNA  
How was it?

BRIANNA wiggles her eyebrows.

ESTHER  
It was… nice.

BRIANNA stares at her for a moment, her eyebrows raised.

BRIANNA  
Nice?

ESTHER  
Yeah.

BRIANNA  
Just ‘nice’?

ESTHER  
Yeah.

BRIANNA puts her head in her hands.

BRIANNA  
Jesus Christ.

ESTHER  
What’s wrong with nice? It  _ was  _ nice.

BRIANNA  
Come on, Esther, it’s your first time with anyone ever. It’s meant to be, like, more than nice.

ESTHER shrugs, insecure.

ESTHER  
Well… I-- I don’t know. I was really worried about messing up and not being, you know, sexy, but… [begins to smile] Sandy was really nice about it. Like, we kissed and she was really soft and nice and we went slow and she kept saying she loved me and I kept saying I loved her and… It was nice, you know?

BRIANNA looks at her for a moment - she doesn’t know, but she really wants to. She covers it all up with a scoff.

BRIANNA  
Sounds boring.

ESTHER snorts.

ESTHER  
Okay, whore.

BRIANNA gasps, both mock-offended and trying to hide her actual offense.

BRIANNA  
I can’t even say you can’t reclaim.

ESTHER  
Oh, I can’t and won’t. I’m just saying you’re a whore.

BRIANNA places a hand on her heart.

BRIANNA  
Thank you, my love, let me be anti-semetic now.

ESTHER smiles, laughing a little.

ESTHER  
Bitch… 

BRIANNA winks at her and goes back to her phone. She looks down at her textbook for a moment and then goes back to typing on her phone when she gets a text from ANNABELL: “hey, do you wanna hang out tomorrow?”

BRIANNA stares at it for a moment, takes a breath, and taps it, typing back: “i’ll check if i’m free, one sec.”

She pauses, stopping smiling, and opens her messages with RORI, all of them short and unrevealing. She looks over at ESTHER, ESTHER looking down at her script again.

BRIANNA  
Has… Rori spoken to you recently?

ESTHER looks up at BRIANNA, confused.

ESTHER  
Huh? Yeah, of course, why?

BRIANNA  
Just… 

She smiles tightly.

BRIANNA  
No reason.

ESTHER  
Did something happen?

BRIANNA  
No, no, just-- She wasn’t answering my texts for a bit.

ESTHER  
She’s in class, Bree.

BRIANNA nods, laughing, trying to believe her.

BRIANNA  
Right, yeah. So caught up in my free period privilege I forgot.

ESTHER nods, looking back down at her script as BRIANNA looks back at her phone. She opens the messages with ANNABELL and sends back a: "i'm all good if you are." and ANNABELL sends back "👉👉".

BRIANNA goes back to her essay and continues to type, still occasionally looking down at her textbook.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys!!! hope you're enjoying the season so far. just a quick update: my computer's been messing up a Lot lately, so a lot of clips are going to be a bit later than usual. i'm hoping to get them out on the day they're meant to be out though <3 hope you're keeping well


	4. CLIP FOUR: "Chasing After Love"

**THURSDAY, MAY 7TH, 17:02**

INT. CHARITY SHOP, BRIGHTON

_“Pynk” by Janelle Monae_ plays as BRIANNA and ANNABELL walk into a charity shop and begin to look through the clothes on the rails, BRIANNA very focused on the clothes, ANNABELL very focused on BRIANNA.

BRIANNA holds up a few shirts, all of them tatty and cheap, and ANNABELL shakes their head yes or no for all of them. The song slowly fades into the background as BRIANNA turns back to the rail, looking through the shirts for something better.

ANNABELL  
Okay, okay, what do you think of this?

They hold up a brightly and varyingly coloured sweater vest, depicting a cat, a house, a sky, a flower and several other items - it’s obviously hand-made and no longer wanted. BRIANNA wrinkles her nose up at it.

BRIANNA  
Ew, no.

ANNABELL  
Okay, you wanted shitty clothes--

BRIANNA rolls her eyes, interrupting them.

BRIANNA  
Not shitty. _Used_.

ANNABELL  
Yeah, used shittily. 

BRIANNA flips her off, putting the sweater vest back on the rail.

ANNABELL  
Honestly, why don’t you just use old clothes you have already?

BRIANNA shrugs, trying to remain nonchalant.

BRIANNA  
‘Cause it’s better to get them here. You give to charity and it's cheaper and shit.

ANNABELL snorts and BRIANNA glares at them, making them both laugh a little. BRIANNA turns back to the rail. 

BRIANNA  
Besides, my clothes aren’t shitty.

ANNABELL  
[mocking her accent] Not shitty, _used!_

BRIANNA  
My clothes are from this century.

ANNABELL rolls their eyes and picks up a grotty-looking jumper, with a moth bite on the shoulder.

ANNABELL  
What about this?

BRIANNA turns around and smiles upon seeing it.

BRIANNA  
Oh, that’s perfect! 

She takes it from them, examining the back and front of it.

ANNABELL  
Yeah, just what we want, a top with holes all in it.

BRIANNA  
If you’re not having fun, you can go.

ANNABELL looks at BRIANNA for a moment, like they don’t recognize her, and BRIANNA rolls her eyes again, searching through the racks.

ANNABELL  
Sorry?

BRIANNA keeps looking through the racks, breathing slowly.

ANNABELL  
You used to think I was funny.

BRIANNA looks over at them, shrugging.

BRIANNA  
You are funny, just... 

ANNABELL looks at her expectantly as she shrugs..

BRIANNA  
Nothing. I'm tired.

She's lying, she's never been more awake.

ANNABELL  
[sharp] You don't look tired.

BRIANNA looks over at them, confused.

ANNABELL  
Sorry, it's just… It's weird. 

BRIANNA  
Weird how?

ANNABELL  
I don’t know. You’ve changed.

BRIANNA laughs a little.

BRIANNA  
Yeah, time does that, Annabell.

ANNABELL  
No, like… You’ve gone all soft and shit.

BRIANNA furrows her brow, completely baffled.

BRIANNA  
Soft? Soft how?

ANNABELL  
You’re running around with your little girl gang, hanging out with them all the time, doing their shows and laughing at boys’ dumb jokes. It's like... I don't know, it feels like I don't know you anymore.

BRIANNA snorts, rolling her eyes.

BRIANNA  
You do know me.

ANNABELL  
The Brianna I knew wouldn't ghost me for a week before finally answering.

BRIANNA goes still as ANNABELL sighs/laughs, shaking their head, looking down.

BRIANNA  
I'm sorry, okay? Things are really busy with school and the girls and--

ANNABELL  
Yeah, obviously.

BRIANNA stands a bit straighter, her joking smile on.

BRIANNA  
Jealous much?

There’s a pause, ANNABELL not answering. BRIANNA turns around and looks at them, her eyebrows raised. Her smile slowly disappears as ANNABELL shrugs, and the OLD LADY at the counter sips her tea, enjoying the show. BRIANNA avoids looking at her, staring at ANNABELL.

ANNABELL  
Well, I was told to "be more honest with people", so yeah. Maybe I am.

BRIANNA  
What, do you… like, have a crush on me or something?

BRIANNA laughs a little, like she’s telling a joke, but ANNABELL doesn’t laugh - they just shrug, looking down.

BRIANNA  
Oh, shit--

ANNABELL shakes their head, laughing a little.

ANNABELL  
Don’t. Okay? You’re obviously not interested--

BRIANNA  
I never said that.

ANNABELL  
You never said you _were_ either.

BRIANNA takes a breath, looking down - ANNABELL knows they’re right but BRIANNA still doesn’t want to say anything. So ANNABELL sighs, pulling their jacket tighter around them.

ANNABELL  
And that's fine, you know? Like, you can't control that shit, but... I don't know. Maybe I was putting all of my hopes on someone who doesn't really exist.

BRIANNA just watches them speak, speechless, as ANNABELL laughs bitterly, looking away and sighing.

ANNABELL  
And now I've made everything weird.

BRIANNA  
You haven't, I just...

ANNABELL  
Yeah, I obviously have. So… I'll just leave you to it.

BRIANNA  
Annabell--

ANNABELL  
I’m still your friend, Bree. I just can’t be asked with this today.

BRIANNA sighs and looks back at the rail, pretending to look through the clothes but she watches in the reflective surface of the rail as ANNABELL walks out, the bell above the door ringing as they do so, and walks away down the street.

OLD LADY [O.S.]  
Tough, isn’t it?

BRIANNA looks over at her, confused.

BRIANNA  
What?

OLD LADY  
Being young. Chasing after love that isn't what you expected.

BRIANNA does a scoff-laugh, humourless, insecure.

BRIANNA  
It's not love. They just think I'm pretty.

The OLD LADY nods, and looks back down at her newspaper. 

BRIANNA looks back at the rail, and then sighs, taking her phone out of his pocket. She has several notifications: a few from the art club group chat, a few from AUDREY, and a few from the theatre club group chat. BRIANNA scrolls past them all, and then sees at least twenty notifications from JOSH. She looks confused and taps them, reading them all.

There are many of them from before today, just "hey"s and "hi"s and "how are you"s that she must have missed. She lets out a breath and scrolled down to today's messages - they begin sweet, asking how she is, where she is, and then begin to get more frustrated, asking why she’s ignoring him. Then he starts to talk about how “horny” he is and how much he wants her. How much he wants to “breed” her. That’s followed by a picture of his penis.

BRIANNA is horrified, her breathing as picked up, and she quickly blocks his number, closing the messages. She tries to steady her breathing, holding onto the rail for support.

BRIANNA  
[whispers] Hail Mary, full of grave, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of temptation… Amen.

She looks down at her phone again, where there’s a notification from the GIRL SQUAD group chat. She taps it, relieved, saved.

RORI has sent a message that says: "Guys I have a question". BRIANNA's mouth falls open slightly, and the next message from RORI says: "Can you die of boredom? Cause if I have to watch Nick play final fantasy one more time I will."

BRIANNA lets out a sigh as SANDY responds: "leave if you want to, love". LIZ responds: "We can keep you entertained, if you want. I just had another lecture from my mother."

BRIANNA smiles a little and sends: “hell yeah some good vicky content”. LIZ sends back “First of all, no. Second of all, I do not need to know the benefits of the strap-on.” BRIANNA smiles, joke ready, and sends “yeah, you already know”.

ESTHER sends a “bgtfrdes” and SANDY sends a “oiuhgfcxd” and BRIANNA keeps smiles, pleased. LIZ then sends a “Do you guys want to hang out??? I’m bored and need to get out of Charles trying to awkwardly tell me more and Mary is at ballet.”. 

SANDY sends: “My mum is out so we can hang at my place <3”. BRIANNA sends “omw” and ESTHER sends: “i thought you were hanging out with annabell wink emoji”. BRIANNA sighs and sends: “nah they were busy, besides we can hang out and watch derry girls on liz’s netflix”. 

LIZ sends: “I love being extorted by my friends <3” and BRIANNA laughs a little as she walks out of the charity shop.

EXT. STREET

BRIANNA walks down the street as SANDY sends: “I’m gonna bring some homework to do” and ESTHER sends: “oh i will too” and RORI sends: “We can have a homework party!!!!!!!!”. BRIANNA smiles a little at that, as _“Head Over Feet” by Alanis Morissette_ starts to play.

INT. LIVING ROOM, SANDY’S HOUSE

The GIRL SQUAD sit around the room - SANDY and LIZ on the sofa, each of them leaning on the sofa’s arms, ESTHER sitting on the ground, next to the coffee table, RORI sitting on the other side of the table, and BRIANNA sitting on an armchair opposite her. “Derry Girls” is silently playing on the television, the song still playing.

BRIANNA’s working on her art project, in her sketchbook, looking up at RORI every now and then as she focuses on the finer details of drawing RORI.

She looks up at RORI another time, and smiles a little, just looking at her. Her brow is furrowed, two little lines between her eyebrows, and she’s resting her face on her right hand, using her left to write in a notebook, looking at something on her phone. She doesn’t know anyone’s looking at her, and she’s not trying to keep her head up or keep her face pleasant. BRIANNA smiles to herself. 

RORI shifts slightly and BRIANNA quickly looks down at her sketchbook, pretending to draw something for a moment, when her phones lights up in her lap. She sees a text from RORI: "Are you okay???". BRIANNA looks over at her for a moment, and then quickly types back: "yeah why??". BRIANNA stares at her phones as RORI types and then responds: "We just haven't talked all week, i wanted to make sure you're okay". BRIANNA looks over to her, makes eye contact with RORI, and smiles, soft and real, and then responds: "yeah just busy and stuff". RORI then responds: "Yeah, I get it. You can talk to me about anything you know, and I won't spring any more practise kisses on you haha what a weird idea".

BRIANNA looks up at RORI, who's smiling awkwardly at her, and then looks away. BRIANNA lets out a breath and responds: "yeah lmao", and then RORI responds: "You should get back to work, i'll die before i keep you from finishing a drawing". When BRIANNA looks back up, LIZ is looking between her and RORI, her mouth forming an O. BRIANNA makes eye contact with her and shakes her head. LIZ nods, and looks back down at her laptop, a little smile on her face.

BRIANNA rolls her eyes fondly, smiling, and looks back down at her sketchbook, adding some light shading to LIZ, then ESTHER, then SANDY, then RORI. She touches the outline of herself, staring at it for a long moment. She adds the shading around her skirt area, smiling a little.


	5. CLIP FIVE: "It's Hard To Be Alone"

**FRIDAY, MAY 8TH, 01:26**

INT. BRIANNA’S BEDROOM, BRIANNA’S HOUSE

_“hand solo (acoustic)” by Marika Hackman_ plays as BRIANNA lies in her bed, the lights off. In slow motion, we close up on her face, illuminated by white light, and sees her closed eyes and slightly parted lips. She has headphones in and she’s breathing calmly and we pan down her body, seeing her casual pyjama t-shirt, her chest moving up and down under it. The duvet pulled to her waist, and as we pan down further, we see that her left hand is moving underneath the blanket. Her right hand is holding her phone, with her earbuds plugged into it. For a moment we see what she sees - a man and a woman having extremely rough sex, the woman getting her hair pulled.

As the chorus begins, we go back to BRIANNA’s face, her eyes now open, clearly bored, and we see her breathe, bringing her right hand up to her face and caressing her cheek, soft, delicate, taking care of herself. She runs her fingers through her hair, her mouth opening even more as she lets herself softly smile.

A floorboard creaks outside, the song immediately cutting out. We return to normal speed and BRIANNA snaps her eyes open, gets rid of her incognito tab, turns her phone off and rips her headphones out, stopping all movement. The floorboard creaks again and we hear trickling liquid from outside. BRIANNA slows her breathing down, trying to keep as quiet as possible, resting her free hand on her heart and looking over at the wooden cross sitting on her desk.

She takes a breath and lets her head hang back on her pillow, looking up at the ceiling. She places her phone on her nightstand, not looking at it as she plugs it into her charger. Her body is perfectly still, and we hear water running next door - someone washing her hands - and then the floorboards creak again, going back to bed.

BRIANNA lets out a breath and slowly sits up, looking over to her phone. She shakes herself, completely disgusted by what she's just done. _"Basketcase" by ortoPilot_ begins to play as she carefully places her bare feet onto the floor, knowing how to stay silent - she's done this a million times before. She takes her left hand out of her shorts and clenches her fists, keeping her wrinkled fingers out of sight. She stands up and slowly walks out, passing by CUSTARD, who’s sleeping peacefully in his bed.

INT. BATHROOM, BRIANNA’S HOUSE

BRIANNA walks in and turns on the light - it buzzes quietly. She sits on the toilet, pulling her shorts down and looks around boredly. Her eyes are fully open, too awake, but she yawns, her face wrinkling as she rubs her eyes with her right hand. She keeps looking ahead, at the lock on the door. It's locked, but she doesn't remember locking it.

She gives up, shaking her head at herself, and walks to the sink and begins to wash her hands, pumping four pumps of soap onto her left hand and she rubs it in for a good fifteen seconds, focusing hard on making them clean, before rinsing them, looking up into the mirror of the cabinet above the sink. She tilts her head slightly at her red cheeks and messy hair, rubbing her cheeks with her "clean" hand, as if trying to make the redness go way - it doesn't work.

She turns the faucet off and shakes the water off of her hands and brings the left one up to her nose, smelling it to see if it’s clean. She scrunches up her face - it isn’t - and she pumps two more pumps of soap onto her hands, washing them again, staring into her own eyes. She hates herself for doing this, but she’s grown numb to the hatred - this is just the life she’s used to.

She turns the faucet off and shakes the water off of her hands and dries them, scrubbing with a rough looking hand towel, and looks in the mirror again. She takes a hairbrush from the top of a small chest of drawers and brushes her hair, making it slightly less messy, but not fixing it. She sighs and puts the brush back down, rubbing her eyes with her right hand and turning the lights off, leaving and closing the door quietly behind her, the song cutting out. The floorboard creaks.


	6. CLIP SIX: "Not It"

**FRIDAY, MAY 8TH, 19:59**

INT. LIZ’S ROOM, LIZ’S HOUSE

The GIRL SQUAD sit on LIZ’s bed, “Twilight” playing on LIZ’s laptop sitting at the end of the bed. The GIRL SQUAD have two containers of popcorn - one on SANDY’s lap, one on LIZ’s - and they all take turns taking handfuls from them and eating them.

RORI  
Not to be a basic girl from 2008, but this is  _ such  _ a good movie.

BRIANNA smiles a little, but quickly suppresses it, staring straight ahead as LIZ laughs a little.

LIZ  
It's literally amazing. Like, to quote: “Bella, look! It’s a worm!”.

ESTHER  
It’s modern day camp!

SANDY  
He called her a freaking spider-monkey!

ESTHER  
Exactly!

They all laugh a little, having fun, enjoying the company.

SANDY  
Anyways, she should obviously choose Jacob.

RORI gasps and looks at SANDY, BRIANNA already beginning to laugh into her hand.

BRIANNA  
Are we seriously going to do this?

RORI  
Come on, Sandy, Edward’s right there! They’re drawn to each other!

LIZ  
He’s, like, 100.

RORI  
But he’s nice! And Robert Pattinson!

ESTHER   
If this was five years ago, the internalised misogyny I would feel, but do go off, Rori.

RORI smiles.

RORI  
I just think it’s nice that he crushed a bit of that car to save her life.

BRIANNA  
[sarcastic] What a hero.

RORI  
And he’s just new and exciting and-- I don’t know! They’re a classic couple, Bella and Edward, can’t be beat.

SANDY  
Yeah, but Jacob already  _ knows  _ her, you know? They have established friendship and shit, and when you look past the whole racism in the writing thing, he’s nice.

LIZ raises a hand and speaks through a mouthful of popcorn.

LIZ  
And past the him being a pedo.

SANDY  
Yes, thank you, Liz.

ESTHER  
Didn’t that happen because it was like, “oh, he’s so into Bella that he’s going to fall in love with whoever’s  _ inside  _ of Bella”?

BRIANNA  
Then why isn’t he in love with Edward, then?

All of them begin to laugh, BRIANNA smiling as she watches RORI laugh.

ESTHER  
Perfect!

RORI  
That just wouldn’t work, would it?

BRIANNA  
Why not?

They look at each other for a moment, BRIANNA trying to say a million words with one look, but RORI looks away.

RORI  
I mean, the story’s set in one way, you can’t just change it. The whole thing is that they’re in love with Bella, you can’t just change it.

BRIANNA  
Why not? 

RORI shrugs, still not looking at her.

ESTHER  
It's like what Riverdale's been doing lately. Hashtag Barchie nation.

RORI  
We're not having this debate again.

LIZ  
Please, God, if I have to hear you two or Al talk about the "high camp of Riverdale", I will die.

BRIANNA loudly speaks up:

BRIANNA  
I was gonna say something.

SANDY  
Say it!

BRIANNA  
Just, like... in a more realistic way, you could fall in love with anyone at any time. It’s not like in the movie, where they’re like animals. Like, all they do is smell each other and mate, they don’t know how to love. Only humans can love, right? 

Everyone’s looking at her, taken in, but she’s looking ahead at the screen, smiling, her eyes wide, a mile a minute.

BRIANNA  
Like-- Like cats. Cats don’t fall in love. They just walk around and eat and piss and mate and die. That’s just it! Do you think they get joy from eating their food? I mean, we can’t know what they feel, but they can’t fall in love. Only we can. We’re choosing to fall in love with each other, but you don’t choose who you fall in love  _ with _ , which makes it even more human, because humans fuck up so much! Like, I think all of this is all God’s plan, you know? Every thing that happens is meant to happen because he says so, the good, the bad, and who knows why he does it? But we love and we can mate, but we don’t mate for the sake of scents and shit, and… Jesus, I don’t even know what the fuck I’m talking about anymore!

She starts to laugh, RORI laughing along a bit as ESTHER, SANDY and LIZ all look at BRIANNA.

LIZ  
I… Honestly, unironically, that’s really interesting.

SANDY  
Literature students really be like this.

BRIANNA keeps laughing, not sure how to stop.

ESTHER  
Points are made, like, thank you Bree. I mean, Bella’s obviously a lesbian anyway, but still.

Another laugh, and silence falls for a moment, BRIANNA tapping her fingers together to try and get the rest of her energy out - she isn’t quite sure what’s happening to her, but she’s not unsure. She just doesn’t want to think about it.

BRIANNA  
I’m hungry. Is anyone else hungry?

RORI shrugs, making a non-committal noise as LIZ nods, looking over at the rest of the group.

ESTHER  
Yeah, I couldn’t have dinner today - homework.

The rest of the GIRL SQUAD nod - they’ve all been there and have grown numb to how fucked up it is.

SANDY  
How about we treat ourselves?

LIZ  
Oh?

SANDY  
Fish ‘n’ chips! Friday night take-away! Me and my mum used to do it when I was in primary school.

ESTHER  
That sounds great, but it does imply having to get out of bed.

RORI touches her finger to her nose.

RORI  
Not it!

LIZ, ESTHER, SANDY and BRIANNA all look at her and quickly try to copy her.

LIZ  
Not it!

SANDY  
Not it!

ESTHER  
Not it!   
  


BRIANNA  
Not it!

She looks around, realising she’s the last one to say it.

BRIANNA  
Ah, shit.

LIZ  
Ha!

BRIANNA sits up and puts on her shoes - they’re sitting at the side of the bed, waiting.

SANDY  
I’ll text you our orders, you start going.

RORI  
Try that same place as the last time we got fish ‘n’ chips, they were really good.

LIZ moans, throwing her head back - BRIANNA can’t tell if she’s being dramatic or genuinely enjoying herself.

LIZ  
Literally, I don’t remember the last time I had chips that good. And you guys know I  _ hate  _ chips.

BRIANNA stands up, grabbing her coat.

BRIANNA  
Yes, we know. You're weird, you're a weirdo.

LIZ  
Wow, just say you hate neurodivergent people.

BRIANNA looks back at the four of them, almost laughing at the irony.

BRIANNA  
Isn’t that those movies with Shailene Woodley as Katniss 2?

They all laugh, and BRIANNA walks to the door.

BRIANNA  
You don’t have to pause the movie, by the way, I’ll be fine.

RORI  
We can, though.

BRIANNA looks at her for a moment.

BRIANNA  
You can just tell me when I get back, I’ll just be, like, 15 minutes.

She opens the door, but then turns back again.

BRIANNA  
If the movie finishes before I’m back, though, wait to start the next one.

SANDY  
Aye aye, captain.

BRIANNA smiles and walks out the door, closing it behind her.

INT. HALLWAY, LIZ’S HOUSE

The smile falls from BRIANNA’s face as she takes a breath. She feels her left pocket and pulls out her phone. She doesn’t turn it on, she just taps it for a moment, thinking. She turns it on and opens her messages with AUDREY - the last ones being BRIANNA stating that she’s sleeping over at LIZ’s and AUDREY telling her to stay safe. 

She begins to type a message: “mum i’ve made a mistake”, but she quickly deletes it. She then begins to type: “i stopped taking my meds, i think i need”, but deletes that again.

She sighs and puts her phone back in her pocket, shrugging her coat tighter over her shoulders and makes her way down the hallway and down the stairs.

EXT. STREET

BRIANNA walks down the street, hands still in her pockets passing by groups of people on a night out, all dressed up. She zips her coat up, hiding her t-shirt, not wanting to look too childish next to them.

She keeps walking, breathing slowly, keeping her head up, keeping her calm mask on perfectly. We focus on her pockets and see the fabric moving - her hands fidgeting inside, barely noticeable, unless you were looking. We are.

INT. FISH AND CHIP SHOP

_“Every Breath You Take” by The Police_ plays as BRIANNA walks into the shop to find it fairly crowded, a good six or seven people in front of her. She blows out some air and leans against the window, watching the counter. A WOMAN is taking a MAN’s order, and then a loud sizzling begins.

BRIANNA looks towards the noise and sees JOSH standing in front of the deep fat fryer, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. He turns to look at the crowd and makes eye contact with BRIANNA. BRIANNA quickly looks down, taking out her phone and pretends to be texting, even though the screen is black.

She slowly begins to slow down, taking deep breath, trying to appear as inconspicuous as possible. Suddenly, her phone screen lights up with a text message from JOSH: “I can see you, Brianna.”.

She inhales sharply and looks up to see JOSH staring at her, smiling sweetly. He waves and she forces a smile back, looking back down at her phone as she watches JOSH type something.

“Why have you been avoiding me?”

BRIANNA breathes in and out, trying to sort out everything in her head - namely trying to find a way to escape. She glances over to the door, but it’s blocked by a MAN who has walked in.

She slowly types out: “been busy haha. school and stuff.”. She looks up to see JOSH roll his eyes at his phone and begin to type. She looks down to see the message: “But you can make time to go out with someone else?”. He then sends a picture from Saturday of NICK and BRIANNA dancing together, from far away, zoomed in. 

BRIANNA's hands shake slightly as she types: “um hello? why do you have this?”. JOSH sends back, instantly: “I just want to get to know you, Brianna.”, followed by: “I joined that show for you, but you just continue to ignore me. It isn’t fair.”

BRIANNA looks up at JOSH - he’s still texting furiously - and, as her breathing picks up, she looks back down at her phone.

“You can’t just sleep with me and pretend I don’t exist. I like you, Brianna. I think you’re beautiful. Isn’t that enough?”.

BRIANNA stares down at the message, breathing heavily now, frozen still. She can’t move - she’s trapped in.

WOMAN [O.S.]  
Josh! 

Both JOSH and BRIANNA looks over to the WOMAN behind the counter, who’s running over to the fryer.

WOMAN  
You’re burning the bloody food!

She bats JOSH away and takes the chips out of the oil, JOSH beginning to argue with her as BRIANNA takes her opportunity and pushes past the MAN standing in front of the door.

MAN  
Oi!

BRIANNA  
Sorry, mate.

She walks out the door, closing it loudly behind her.

EXT. STREET

It’s so quiet outside. BRIANNA looks up and down at the shops, the cars, the people, all going around their normal lives. BRIANNA takes a few deep breaths, getting herself together, as _“Forgiven” by Elizabeth Stanley_ starts to play.

She takes out her phone and immediately blocks JOSH’s number, quickly clicking away from the messages and turning on her mobile data, opening Google and searching “fish and chip shops near me”.

She finds another one ten minutes away and taps on the “Directions” button. It tells her to go left, past the chip shop window. 

BRIANNA looks both ways and crosses the road, jogging ahead of an oncoming car. She heads left, us watching her from the other side as she makes her way down the street, still looking down at her phone, her shoulders hunched.

EXT. DIFFERENT STREET

BRIANNA keeps walking down the street, us only seeing her back. The camera moves up and down gently, like it’s walking along behind her, and we see her pull her coat tighter around herself. She starts walking a bit faster and she looks behind her.

We return to the other side of the road and see BRIANNA standing, isolated, on her side. She breathes a little slower, relieved, and turns to see what’s on the other side of the road.

A church.

BRIANNA smiles a little, relieved, and her hand instinctively coming up to the crucifix necklace hanging around her neck.

INT. CHURCH

BRIANNA walks in and quietly close the large wooden door behind her. A few people are dotted about the church, and BRIANNA genuflects at the closest pew, kneeling down and blessing herself.

She stays perfect still, her hands joined as she closes her eyes, taking deep breaths and calming down.

Her lips begin to move slightly, praying quietly to herself. A “Hail Mary”, an “Our Father”, a “Glory Be”. Just repeating the same words over and over again, her hair falling down and covering her face. 

Finally, she stops, and looks up at the altar. Hanging above it is a large wooden sculpture of Jesus on the cross. Lit on the altar are four candles. BRIANNA looks to the two sides of the altar, where two other doors are. Between the doors and the altar are some candle stands, dotted with tea lights. An OLD LADY walks up to the right one and lights another candle, dropping a coin in the money box.

BRIANNA gets up, genuflects to the altar again, and walks down the aisle and over to the left candle stand. She takes a purse out of her pocket and looks through it, finally finding a twenty pence coin. She puts it in the money box and takes an unlit tea light from the box of candles. She uses another candle to light it and then places it at the top centre of the stand. 

She takes her phone out of her pocket and selects the “Directions” button for the nearest fish and chip shop again. It tells her to turn around and go back out the front door. BRIANNA sucks her lips in and looks around, walking out of the church through the left side door, letting the door slam behind her.

_ CUT TO BLACK AS SILENCE PLAYS _

_ CUT TO CREDITS _


End file.
